Extra-Very-Special Selbuvotter Sock and Mitten Blockers!

If you'd like to own a small piece of Norwegian knitting history, our long-awaited Selbuvotter sock and mitten blockers are here!  Selbuvotter mittens are Norway's quintessential national symbol.My Sister Knits has an expert Selbuvotter teacher, Jeannie Gibberson and her mittens have been on display in the shop.    No matter your skill or interest level in knitting these unique mittens, you're going to want some of these blockers as art pieces, if for nothing else! The story behind these blockers is captivating!  Patricia Anne Fortune moved to Norway from Dallas over 20 years ago.  She and her family live on a small farm at the top of a mountain, in the middle of a forest overlooking Selbu lake and the village of Selbu.One day she found herself in the Selbuvotter museum's room that shows how knitting machines and metal and plastic tools made the old wooden ones obsolete.  This room has a collection of  beautiful handmade wooden sock and mitten blockers that are no longer produced.She set about reviving this little piece of history that had been given over to mass production in modern times.  Patricia's blockers are made from Norwegian birch from her farm, which is processed at a saw mill in her village.  They are individually carved using laser technology.  The last step is sanding and polishing by hand with beeswax.These blockers are handmade after they are ordered and each of the ones in My Sister Knits were made specifically for us.  The thought of these blockers being hand crafted in Norway just for us makes them precious; we've been handling them with reverence!  If you want to know more about Patricia, be sure to ask Ann when you see her in the shop as she is the one who discovered these remarkable blockers and their story!